Zverev reaches Shanghai quarters after Bublik three-setter, guaranteed year-end No. 1

Alcaraz out in the third round

Carlos Alcaraz lost 5-7, 6-7 to Zizou Bergs of Belgium on Monday, 12 October, in the third round of the Shanghai Masters 1000, where he was the tournament's second seed. Alcaraz had returned from a wrist injury that kept him out for about five months and had won the Japan Open back to back before arriving in China. According to Reuters, Bergs broke his serve three times across the match, and Alcaraz made far more unforced errors than usual. Afterwards Alcaraz said he had not been able to play the way he wanted, that his shots felt poor and that his errors were too many. During the match his coach Samuel López tried to calm him and urged him, at the end of the set, to play with joy and to make only good mistakes if he had to miss. ANSA also reports that Alcaraz blamed the surface and the balls for his difficulties.

Zverev through a three-setter against Bublik

On Tuesday, 13 October, Alexander Zverev beat Alexander Bublik, the 22nd-ranked player, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in 2 hours and 41 minutes. The first set went to a tiebreak, and Bublik had several chances to break in the second set before converting the first one he had to level the match. Zverev faced several break points in the second set, and Deutsche Welle reports that his ankle hurt again while he loaded his serve. Bublik lost the decisive tiebreak, and Zverev told RFI that he had physical problems, that he may have been slower, and that his ankle had caused him trouble once more. This was the fifth meeting between the two players, and Bublik had won three of the earlier ones, at Rotterdam in 2021, Montpellier in 2022 and Halle in 2023, while Zverev had won only the Monte Carlo Masters in 2023. Zverev will play Alex de Minaur, the ninth seed, who beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 on the same day.

Year-end No. 1 and Sinner's absence

With Alcaraz out, ANSA reports that Zverev is now mathematically certain to finish 2026 as world No. 1, a position that opened up because Jannik Sinner has not played since winning Wimbledon in July. RFI reports that Sinner decided not to compete again in 2026 in order to recover from a knee injury, and Zverev is still ranked No. 2 in the current ranking. ATP figures cited by ANSA say Zverev will be 29 years and 217 days old when the year-end ranking is published on 23 November, which makes him the oldest player to reach No. 1 for the first time, three days older than Andre Agassi in 1999 and 20 days older than Andy Murray in 2016. Reuters reports that Zverev will be the first German to end a year ranked first, and that he won the French Open and the US Open this season.

What comes next

The timeline below sets out the three dated milestones in the articles, from Alcaraz's defeat to the publication of the year-end ranking.

Zverev's quarter-final against Alex de Minaur has no date in the articles. According to Reuters, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced, while Arthur Fils and Taylor Fritz lost. Arthur Gea, ranked 56th, reached the quarter-finals by beating Jakub Mensík, ranked 15th, 7-6, 6-4, according to RFI. The ATP year-end ranking that will confirm Zverev's position is due on 23 November.